• Germany edition
Society
Photo: DPA

Sarrazin earns millions with anti-immigration book

Published: 17 Dec 10 13:13 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20101217-31873.html

Former Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin has become a millionaire many times over thanks to the proceeds of his inflammatory book attacking Muslim immigrants.

Sarrazin enraged politicians and the public this summer with the incendiary publication Deutschland schafft sich ab - Wie wir unser Land aufs Spiel setzen, or “Abolishing Germany - How we’re putting our country at jeopardy.”

In the book, Sarrazin warns that Germans could become “strangers in their own country” because of integration, and argues that Muslims are not compatible with German society.

He may have been forced to resign from his post at the Bundesbank and fight expulsion from the centre-left Social Democratic Party, but Sarrazin said on ZDF’s talk show Stuckrad Late Night on Thursday that he’d made a pile of money from the book.

When host Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre estimated that the 1.2 million copies sold had earned his guest €3 million, Sarrazin indicated it was significantly more.

But the sudden wealth has not changed life for him and his wife, Sarrazin said.

“I just say, ‘It will go into the account and then we’ll wait patiently,” the 65-year-old said, adding he still needed to pay taxes on the large sum.

When asked why he waited until his political career was over to publish the book, the former Berlin finance minister said he’d had other issues to tackle, such as the consolidation of the German capital budget.

And there won’t be a another book about his time at the Bundesbank, he said.

“That would be a little too boring,” he quipped.

In the run-up to his first book’s publication, Sarrazin also made several controversial public remarks, claiming that Muslims don’t want to integrate and are making the country “dumber.”

Other controversial statements include that ethnic groups are distinguished by particular genes – for example that “all Jews share a certain gene.”

DPA/The Local/ka

External link: See interview here (in German) »

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

13:46 December 17, 2010 by saar
He said something that everyone knows but afaid or don not want to say. So,someone who does it first gets paid. It could have being you.
14:27 December 17, 2010 by So36
Yes, racist bigotry still pays.
14:50 December 17, 2010 by mhdamro
great ... just when i thought the debate about integration is over, now it comes back again .... i hope that Portugal gets bankrupt for the newspapers to have something else to cover ......!!!!!!!!!!
14:58 December 17, 2010 by wood artist
You are correct, saar.

What he said was that the xenophobia that has fueled countless wars and killed millions is alive and well, that racial bigotry hasn't gone away, and that the human race still has a long way to go in learning to live peacefully. He reminded us all that it's still easier to fear and hate than accept and learn. He explained exactly how stereotypes allow us to dismiss things that challenge our simplistic beliefs.

In short, he told us a lot about ourselves, and very little about those we choose to fear because they are somehow different. Like others who have written books in Germany, he again explained and demonstrated the skills of creating racial hatred for people who are not racially different. I hope genetic research can quickly identify the "Jewish Gene" so we can have a test for it. It would save a lot of time, and we wouldn't need those bothersome eye charts and nose measurements.

I suspect he made a lot more money from this book than the last guy who wrote one of these.

wa
16:14 December 17, 2010 by Viva Melita
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
16:16 December 17, 2010 by Joshontour
Bigotry is alive and well in "enlightened" Germany.
16:59 December 17, 2010 by noas
the new "mein kampf"... nothing new or brave. more than 70 years in Germany already...
17:07 December 17, 2010 by Beachrider
You cannot complain about the immigrants that you get if the world shows you to be an adverse environment.

We have folks like this in the USA, but they have little swing in the immigration hub-cities (NYC, Boston, New Orleans, LA, SF, Seattle, etc.).

It is OK to have the discussion so long as you can pay-the-piper for the value judgements that it brings from outsiders.

...and Germany really SHOULD be one of the shining stars of the EU for immigration...
17:27 December 17, 2010 by Viva Melita
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
17:40 December 17, 2010 by BayouCoyote
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
18:45 December 17, 2010 by couchtripper
Why do so many fools blame foreigners for everything?

'They took my job!' - get better trained then.

'They don't speak my langauge!' - I doubt you've got anything they want to hear.

'They wear different clothes!' - says you in your Lehderhosen.
20:10 December 17, 2010 by Biggseye
Interestingly enough the author has many valid points. Germany has lost control of it's ability to maintain an identity that dates back hundreds of years. Like The US, the UK, and any nation that allow this to happen. I am not against immigration, what I am against is the lack of assimilation on the part of the new comers. They flee a homeland to come and then instead of embracing the culture and language of Germany, they try to convert it into a little section of home. really does not make sense to me. Another factor is that the new comers often are treated better than citizens of the nation they immigrate to. Here I am talking of Legal immigrants, Illegal Immigrants get better treatment then they should if anything is done for them. They are, by definition, criminals. As such I have no sympathy for them no matter what. It is interesting also that because of the history of the last century, any attempt to control immigration in Germany brings out this "mein kampf" crap. It is not racism or xenophobic, or backward, or in any way shape or form evil to demand that immigrants to Germany adapt the culture and language. Try going to Turkey and creating a German speaking christian community, it is not going to be allowed. Think Turkey is not the norm? Then try it in Japan? or India, or any African county. No only the western European nations and North America allow immigrants to create pockets of cultural cancer by bending over and letting the new comers set the rules and making the established population pay for it. Here is the point that the Japanese, the Turks, and many other nations have learned, If new comers are not assimilated into existing culture, the existing culture will suffer. There will be tension, violence, revolt, and possible revolution by the various cultures. Only a socialist liberal would be believe the diametrically opposite cultures can exist in the same country at the same time. History tells us that all such attempts lead to bloodshed, often on a massive scale. We are not talking German christian verse German Hebrew, we are talking German culture verses Middle eastern culture. the German culture is an open and free culture, the mid eastern culture is a closed culture that closely resembles middle age culture.
00:37 December 18, 2010 by Prufrock2010
Bigotry disguised as populism sells, no question about it. Ask Sarah Palin.
08:41 December 18, 2010 by JAMessersmith
The more the pitfalls of globalism become apparent, the more widespread ideologies like isolationism and nationalism will spread.
09:59 December 18, 2010 by OkieinBerlin
Of course the book has made millions, with all the luird publicity it has received in shitty so-called newpapers...
10:33 December 18, 2010 by darwiniandemon
Here's a question: how many of you have actually READ the book? I doubt not many of you since it's in German and this is an expat forum.

I read the book. Yes, it has a certain skewed perspective but it does make valid, factual points. I disagree with him on some points but also agree with him on others.

Don't let the media twist his words. Read the book before making up your opinion.
12:13 December 18, 2010 by ErickDDiaz
I landed in Munchen Airport in 07 I thought I was in Turkey.
13:14 December 18, 2010 by ranjhi
@Biggseye: Since when have the white Europeans or black Africans of North America become "native"? You forget that they are the original immigrants, and when the Europeans went about colonizing the rest of the world, they did not worry about the niceties of learning the language or assimilating themselves in the local culture.....

Why should it be so important to assimilate? Cant differences and diversity be celebrated? If a Swede comes and lives in Germany, he is not asked to assimilate or "integrate"....why? is it because he just looks so similar? If I feel proud of my culture and background, and am a productive law abiding citizen of this country, i see no reason why I should get rid of my own culture and background, just to "fit in". I don't have to "fit in"....i have to be accepted as an equal, just like everyone else. Is that not equality and justice, in the "civilized" world?
14:53 December 18, 2010 by Joshen
@Biggseye

"It is not racism or xenophobic, or backward, or in any way shape or form evil to demand that immigrants to Germany adapt the culture and language."

No it isn't but it is racism to say that a person is unable to do so just because he is from another culture/race. I think thats what this discussion should be about and thats why Sarrazins book should be critticized.

When it comes to assimilation, my opinion is that a immigrant should learn the language and respect the values of the culture but that every person has a right to keep it's cultural identity. This aplies just as much for swedes (like myself) as for iranians or turks.
21:07 December 18, 2010 by surj
Biggseye, You hit a nail on the head ,many may disagree with you but you are 100% right. When we talk of immigrants coming into Germany except muslims, most others will integrate, I have friends who are married to German women and now feel part and parcel of the German society,still keep little bit of their culture. Muslims will never accept that, they would have a woman converted to Islam. Arabs went out of Saudi Arabia and colonised whole of North Africa and West Africa. They colonised most of Middle East. So what are you talking of 'ranjhi' ? www.thereligionofpeace.com and www.islam-watch.org and www.faithfreedom.org Muslims are the biggest ' raciest ' on this planet
13:21 December 19, 2010 by michael4096
@surj et al.. paraphrasing: there are even bigger racists in the world than us!!!

Oh! That's alright then!

Remember! The people Sarrazin is complaining about are generally born in Germany, often their parents were born in Germany; their families have two, three members working hard in German firms making German exports and paying German taxes. Sure they prefer to speak something else, not eat sausages or drink beer and wear headscarves - so what!

And, what they have to do with the Saudi equivalent of the racists on this forum I cannot understand at all.
19:22 December 19, 2010 by jolly-go-down
Meh, if you find the time to complain about immigrants, you also have the time to make changes that extinguish the fire instead of pouring more gasoline onto it. Guess it's just more comfortable to point fingers... always has been and nothing has changed about that. A pity. I'm gonna listen to Lennon's Imagine now.
00:22 December 20, 2010 by schmidt48
I agree with comment #7. To the unbiased outside observer, the similarities to Mein Kampf, also a bestseller that blamed Germany's problems on a religious minority, are most striking.
18:46 December 20, 2010 by noas
if the assimilation is so important - wht are Amish (germans) in the US still speaking German and not assimalating with US population? why are there so many German speaking schools in California. i propose that Germans darkennd people from all over the world and especially from the US get back to germany and try to be assimilated there....
19:48 December 21, 2010 by Biggseye
#22 I don't know what Amish your talking about, but around here, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, the Amish all speak English. While it is true some do still speak German in their homes, the majority speak only English. And they have assimilated into the American Culture. They ask for nothing special, they go to public schools, work in hospitals, are members of the local communities, school boards, elected government. This Idea that Amish are a separate culture is just bunk. They don't Drive, neither do 50% of the people that live in New York City. Actually young Amish, at least the ones I know, do have cars, radios, MP3 players, IT is as an adult that they make the decision to live a very simple life style. This is by personal choice, there is no requirement to continue this life style if one does not wish to. And the most important difference between the Amish and the Mid eastern Arab; they do not wish to be treated as special, different, nor do they wish to impose their way of life on non Amish. Ever hear of an Amish religious war? Ever hear of Amish stoning those that do not believe or break thier rules. No there is a big difference between the Arab world and the Amish religion, a true religion of peace. I would take 10,000 true Amish over anyone that does not want to be part of the culture.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Today's headlines
Photo: DPA

SAP to hire hundreds of autistic IT experts

German tech company SAP said on Tuesday it wants to hire hundreds of people with autism to work as software testers and programmers. The search has, it said, begun for people “who think differently from others.” READ () »

Photo: DPA

States to toughen laws on drunken cycling

German state interior ministers are hashing out a plan to lower the amount of alcohol cyclists can legally consume before getting on their bikes. The measures come as figures show one in 10 bike accidents are the result of drunk riders. READ () »

Photo: DPA

The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek dies at 74

Ray Manzarek, co-founder of legendary 1960s rock band The Doors and creator of their signature organ sound, died on Monday in Germany after a long battle with cancer, his manager said. He was 74. READ () »

Photo: Nike/DPA

England fans decry 'German' football jersey

The new jersey for England’s national football team has sparked the ire of English fans for looking too much like the kit archrivals Germany wore when they won the World Cup in 1974. READ () »

My German Career
Photo: Graham Appleby

'My friends call me travelling x-ray salesman'

In the latest installment of My German Career, The Local spoke with New Zealander physicist Graham Appleby about Hamburg's high intensity x-ray beams and life in Germany's scientific community. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Germany seeks 'visible' Kosovo-Serbia progress

Germany has called for "visible" progress in implementing a landmark deal between Serbia and Kosovo before securing Berlin's backing for Belgrade's bid to join the European Union. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Cooler and wetter week ahead

Rain in the west, sunshine in the east - Germany's weather was divided on Monday, as the German Weather Service (DWD) warned of an unsettled week ahead. READ () »

Photo: DPA

20,000 Goths gather in Leipzig

More than 20,000 Goths from all over the world gathered in Leipzig in eastern Germany over the Whitsun weekend to celebrate all things dark and Gothic. READ () »

More Society
RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER AND ALERTS
Highlights
Photo: DPA
SOCIETY »
20,000 Goths gather in Leipzig
Photo: DPA
LIFESTYLE »
Harmless pink fun or a bad influence on young girls? A life-size Barbie dream house attraction opened in Berlin to protests including a topless woman burning a doll in effigy.
Photo: DPA
OPINION »
At his final heartbeat I knew I had to act. Our German of the Week is Tina K., who, after her brother was beaten to death, has been campaigning for an end to street violence in Berlin.
Photo: DPA
LIFESTYLE »
The Local List: Ten German words with double meanings
Photo: DPA
LIFESTYLE »
The Local's English-language movie listings for Germany
Photo: DPA
SOCIETY »
Conflict is part of the fabric of Berlin, but the city's "Peacemaker" soothes things over. Jessica Ware tracked him down for a chat.
Photo: DPA
OPINION »
It might be politically toxic, but it's time to hit the brakes on Germany's reckless driving culture, argues The Local's Ben Knight.
Photo: M&S
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Move over Berlin: why London is Germany's new fashion capital
Photo: Private
OPINION »
For this edition of My German Career, former US military man turned armed guard Keith Alban talks about leaving home in search of a better quality of life.
Photo: Katie Needs
SOCIETY »
Offseason, Germany's largest island Rügen might not top many peoples' list of dream holidays. But as The Local discovered, its quiet beauty makes it worth a trip to escape city bustle.
Photo: DPA
OPINION »
Confused about the hundreds of euros missing from your pay packet? Don't panic - the latest in The Local's JobTalk series looks at German social security payments.
Photo: DPA
LIFESTYLE »
Is that your Handy ringing? This week's Local List takes a look at 12 misused English words in German.
Photo: A Peoples' Picture
LIFESTYLE »
An American is stirring up creative spontaneity in Dresden by leaving disposable cameras around for strangers' use, before collecting them and displaying the results online.
Photo: Private
LIFESTYLE »
After it was revealed that Angela Merkel had a Polish grandfather, Matthew Luxmoore set out to find where she could connect to her roots in Berlin's sizable Polish community.
Photo: DPA
LIFESTYLE »
Why isn't everyone wearing Lederhosen? It's easy for foreigners to stereotype Germany, but this week's Local List is dedicated to debunking common myths.
Photo: Private
OPINION »
The last time Si Liberman saw Berlin, he was thousands of feet in the air on a US bombing raid over Nazi Germany. Nearly seven decades later, he returned to the city.
Photo: DPA
OPINION »
What are the hidden rules of etiquette foreigners need to watch out for while doing business in Germany? The Local's JobTalk series has tips for keeping on the right side of your colleagues.
Photo: DPA
NATIONAL »
All of The Local's 'Germans of the Week' so far
Photo: DPA
NATIONAL »
Every town and city from The Local's My Germany series
Furniture Leasing Corporation
SPONSORED ARTICLE
The furniture-free way to relocate to Germany
Photo: Henrik Trygg/imagebank.sweden.se
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Top five reasons to enrol on an Executive MBA



Latest news from The Local in France

More news from France at thelocal.fr

Latest news from The Local in Norway

More news from Norway at thelocal.no

Latest news from The Local in Sweden

More news from Sweden at thelocal.se

Latest news from The Local in Switzerland

More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch

See all ads | Join the Marketplace

Jobs in Germany, in English

816 jobs available
600 new jobs this week
117 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Blog
Essentials

Dating
Looking for your own blonde bombshell? Or is the strong, silent type more your style? Find a German sweetheart here.

Weather
"After clouds comes clear weather," say the Germans. But what about after that? Find out in The Local's weather section.

Blog
German stuff that's distracting us today.

Noticeboard
Whether you want to buy, sell, hire, announce or promote something, here's the place to do it - completely free of charge.

Discuss
Debate the news, ask for advice, make friends - or just let off steam.

Search News


Register

Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss

REGISTER FOR FREE »

News from the Goethe-Institut
News from Young Germany
News from DeutschlandOnline

Toytown Germany
Germany's English-speaking crowd
Trade CFDs with InterTrader.com
Start trading shares, equities, forex, etc. No commission on equities; Low min. margins. Apply for a CFDs account now!
Little house in Spain
'Charming, old, beamed cottage for holiday let in Jesus Pobre, Alicante, Spain
www.littlehouseinspain.com/
Albatross Insurance
Professional and qualified consultancy on all insurance and finance matters in Germany, Telephone: +49 2163 571 1740, Email: bg@albatross-assurance.com
www.albatross-assurance.com
Hotel reservations in Berlin
Visiting Berlin anytime soon? Book your hotel in Berlin here.
Rental apartments in Berlin
For home-from-home holiday accommodation, search for a Berlin apartment to rent.